DeepTrouble 2 was a much bigger game than the others, especially regarding graphics. Lots of enemies and structures were modeled, fine-tuned and incorporated into the game. As with our other games, a custom editor and other tools had to be developed for creating the game levels.
DeepTrouble 2 was also the first game where we included some easter eggs. It’s always interesting to see if players will find that kind of stuff and as a player it’s fun to find easter eggs.
It can be interesting to compare the original DeepTrouble and DeepTrouble 2 to see how much the graphics features and level of detail increased within just a few years. It also took much longer to develop and it’s a trend that continues. As hardware gets faster and more advanced the technology in games becomes more and more complex and they take longer to develop.
I really enjoyed playing Deep Trouble. I do not like Deep Trouble 2 at all. The graphics are great in both games, but 2 is much harder to understand and play. Why did you change it so much? You could have just continued the game as it was.
I purchased and used Deep Trouble, Deep Trouble 2 and Rally Shift. I imagine that I am older than most of your users but I truly love playing Deep trouble the most. I wish you guys would come out with Deep Trouble 3.
I echo the sentiments of both posters. Deep Trouble was a great game – a classic, in fact. Much more enjoyable than Deep Trouble 2, I spent countless hours over a number of years going through the levels time and time again. It was a sad day when it was no longer supported and it’s never been surpassed as my favourite game. What a delight it would be to either revisit it or to have Deep Trouble 3. In fact, here I am visiting the Codeblender site on the off-chance of news that there might be an iOS version in the making or that DT3 was in development. Perhaps one day?
If we were to make a DT 3, what would you guys like to see in it? The gameplay of DT and DT 2 were quite different with DT having a pretty relaxed pace whereas DT 2 was much more hectic and fast paced. I would say DT also had a bit more exploring than DT 2.
So with that in mind, what did you like and not like about DT and DT 2. What kind of gameplay would you like to see in DT 3?
Hi Ken. Some unorganised thoughts… For me, one of the great joys of DT was the ability to roam the underwater landscape as you desired. Being able to approach alien bases from whichever angle you wanted, or deciding in which order to attack them – and how – allowed you to strategise the way you played the game. Therefore, every game could be different. DT2 lacked this as it’s much more linear. Likewise, searching the wide open seabed for weaponry and small groups of enemies (and remembering next time where those far-off locations were) was an integral part of the enjoyment. The map/position locator in DT1 was sorely missed in DT2.
Whilst DT2 was/is an undoubtedly faster and more frenetic game to play, it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable for me. One factor is that we play with our eyes – and much of the DT2 terrain was obscured by murky waters and thus very limited vision. That would have been fine as an occasional obstacle, but it seemed that you could hardly see what you were doing – you could hardly see the game therefore – level after level. And the tangling seaweed was really annoying; it inhibited rather than enhanced play – and there was so much of it!
The ‘easter eggs’ were fun to find, although I’ve no idea whether I’ve discovered anything like all or even close to all of what could be found. I’ve not played DT2 for a good while, but something that’s just come to mind is the manoeuvrability of your own craft. As I recall, that was sluggish, especially when in confined areas, which much of the game is, of course. In fact, there was quite a bit about how the craft performed that I didn’t like when compared to the smooth, graceful and responsive sub of DT1.
If there were to be a DT3, I’d want it to be based on the gameplay of DT1. I’d also want the exploration and ‘treasure hunting’ to be a big part of it, perhaps in a more varied but still primarily open landscape, and with hidden underwater chambers/caves. DT2 is, to me at least, more of a platform-type game; your route through the game is predetermined by narrow channels of set paths, and they narrow down how you interact with the game. Whereas DT2 is about survival (kill the masses of baddies to get to the end), DT1 was also very much about being master of the terrain.
As I say, unorganised thoughts, and bit of a ramble, I’m afraid. But, hopefully there’s something of value among it all.
I remember the seaweed stuff yes. The idea was to add more realism to the underwater feel but now that I think about it, it was often times just in the way. Definitely something to keep in mind for a DT3.
The DT2 gameplay was indeed very linear and your comments about the open levels in DT1 makes a lot of sense. I’m a bit surprised to hear that DT2 had a very murky water feel to it with very limited sight. You could see farther away in DT1, that is true, but I didn’t at the time feel DT2 was murky… But yea, I guess when compared to DT1 it was quite a bit shorter distance you could see.
Exploration is definitely something I’d want to focus on and it is an aspect of gameplay I like myself. I also feel that an underwater environment is very well suited to a sense of the unknown, mystery and exploration.
I have given the whole idea a bit more thought and there’s one pretty big detail I have been thinking about. This is actually something that came up during the development of DT 2 especially but I’m still undecided so I’ll put it out here.
Should the game continue to be in 3rd person view or would a 1st person view be more immersive? Third person view has the advantage that you see the character or vehicle you are controlling and have a better sense of what goes on around you. On the other hand, first person view puts you more in the game world and it’s more immersive. Then there are of course other game mechanics differences too.
Personally I’d be interested in making it first person view. I think it would make the exploration much more exciting since you’d experience it like you are actually underwater in a sub. It would place you in the center of all the action.
On the other hand, I can also understand the point that it’s fun to see your submarine moving around and it’s easier to see enemy subs. As I said, I’m still undecided on this one. I am leaning towards a first person view because it would be different and I believe it can put you as the player more in the middle of the exploration.
Any ideas or comments on this?
Thought I’d give DT2 a go this evening, and played til the end of the first level. It’s definitely murky down there. Almost instantly I recalled that I didn’t like the ‘return to centre’ that the ship does automatically when you’re not holding down a direction key. It makes the craft handle a bit like a balloon under water. That, of course, is a subjective view.
Relative to your question, I much prefer the 3rd person view. I hadn’t made the connection before, but I really like Nanosaur 2, which is also 3rd person. Indeed, it was finding out a few days ago that Nanosaur 2 was available on iOS that prompted me to come here to see what might be happening in the world of Codeblender.
Being able to see not only your craft, but the environment in which it operates (including the wide angle of in-game view that comes with that perspective) is, as far as I’m concerned, integral to the game and the play within it. For example, seeing your craft under attack and being hit, or knowing that a shield is in operation because of the glow it radiates adds to the game experience for me. I prefer that to having a cockpit view and a console/HUD telling me that I have a shield or similar functioning. I want to control my craft, but not necessarily be inside it. I hope that makes sense.
I did more research on the pros and cons of 1st vs 3rd person view and although first person would have some advantages I realized that for this type of game a third person view is preferable. The better situational awareness, seeing your ship operate etc adds to the fun.
Well with all this said so far I’m thinking it might be a good idea to move over to more DT3 specific posts. We will put together a very basic game prototype as a start to try out various things like controls and submarine behavior and then take it from there.
Stay tuned 🙂
That’s great news. Good luck with these first steps. Quite obviously, I for one hope that they lead to the potential development of a whole new Deep Trouble! And I will ‘watch this space’…
Yes i agree that an update for deep trouble or deep trouble 2 would be awesome. I played for several years on each one and have enjoyed them as one of my favorites. It has been several years since I have been able to play as I have updated my computer. Mac os 10.9.2 So I will be one of your first customers. I loved both versions. Are there any updates to use these on my system? I will test for you if you need opinions….